Community Engagement Model

The term diversity typically refers to differences among populations, including (but not limited to) race and ethnicity. According to the Homeland Security Office of Immigration Statistics (Gibson, 2021), over 700,000 people immigrated to the United States in 2020. The leading groups of foreign-born citizens came from Mexico, Asia, India, Brazil, Nigeria, and the Philippines, which is indicative of the high level of diversity of race and ethnicity in the United States. In addition to being different in terms of race and ethnicity, these groups also are different in terms of religious and cultural traditions, language, and lifestyle.

Awareness of diversity is important for anyone working with diverse populations. One thing to look out for is how—based on a person’s traditions and culture—certain seemingly innocent actions or words may be seen as rude and insulting. As an example, in Chinese culture, prolonged eye contact is a sign of disrespect; in contrast, European cultures perceive eye contact as a sign of attention and respect.

Diversity also refers to other characteristics, such as gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, physical ability, and age. Individuals can belong to the same race or ethnic group, while also being members of one or more additional diverse populations.

Law enforcement professionals must be aware of diversity and the nature of the groups and subgroups with whom they interact. Forensic psychology professionals can assist law enforcement by helping them to gain a better understanding of diversity and to establish models of working successfully with diverse groups. These efforts can result in improved relationships and enhance law enforcement engagement with the community.

Finally, it is important to note that law enforcement engagement with the community is nothing new. It was, for example, woven into Sir Robert Peel’s “9 Principles of Policing” developed in the early 19th century, and it continues today. For example, Police Commissioner William J. Bratton follows Peel’s guidelines, according to The New York Times (Nagle, 2014), and has a list of his own on his blog. Peel’s principles, as described by Bratton, (2014) are:

PRINCIPLE 1 “The basic mission for which the police exist is to prevent crime and disorder.”

PRINCIPLE 2 “The ability of the police to perform their duties is dependent upon public approval of police actions.”

PRINCIPLE 3 “Police must secure the willing cooperation of the public in voluntary observance of the law to be able to secure and maintain the respect of the public.”

PRINCIPLE 4 “The degree of cooperation of the public that can be secured diminishes proportionately to the necessity of the use of physical force.”

PRINCIPLE 5 “Police seek and preserve public favor not by catering to the public opinion but by constantly demonstrating absolute impartial service to the law.”

PRINCIPLE 6 “Police use physical force to the extent necessary to secure observance of the law or to restore order only when the exercise of persuasion, advice and warning is found to be insufficient.”

PRINCIPLE 7 “Police, at all times, should maintain a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and the public are the police; the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence.”

PRINCIPLE 8 “Police should always direct their action strictly towards their functions and never appear to usurp the powers of the judiciary.”

PRINCIPLE 9 “The test of police efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder, not the visible evidence of police action in dealing with it.”

Community engagement is integral to policing culture. Departments must understand this and continually strive to build trust and improve relationships with the communities they serve.Glenn, K. M. (2020). The S.A.R.A. model of problem-oriented policingLinks to an external site.. Criminal Justice Know How. https://criminaljusticeknowhow.com/the-sara-model/

Describe the three most important aspects of the SARA model, as related to community engagement, diversity, and multicultural issues.

Explain how each of the three aspects of the SARA Model you identified may contribute to community engagement.

Note: Your posts should be substantial (500 words minimum), supported with scholarly evidence from your research and/or the Learning Resources, and properly cited using APA Style. Personal anecdotes are acceptable as part of a meaningful post but cannot stand alone as the entire post.